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BISNAR | CHASE Files for Class Action Certification in Case Against Taco Bell
Fresno, CA (Vocus) September 14, 2010
The BISNAR | CHASE (BestAttorney.com) California employment lawyers are in the process of completing class-action discovery and gathering declarations in order to certify a class of more than 18,000 current and former employees of Taco Bell Corp and Yum! Brands, Inc. According to the Consolidated Class-Action Complaint, Taco Bell and Yum! Brands, Inc. violated a number of California labor laws by failing to compensate managers and senior assistant managers properly for overtime, breaks and work-related travel expenses. The original complaint was brought against the defendants by Sandrika Medlock, a former Taco Bell shift manager. The class action request is pending in the Eastern District Court of California, Fresno Division, case #1:07-cv-01314-OWW-DLB.
Taco Bell Allegedly Violates California Labor Laws
According to the Consolidated Class-Action Complaint, Taco Bell is in direct violation of a number of California labor laws in regards to compensation involving its senior managers and assistant senior managers over the past four years. To begin, the complaint alleges Taco Bell failed to pay its employees overtime compensation, directly violating California labor law.
What's more, it's alleged that Taco Bell failed to pay wages immediately and in full when an employee was let go, and/or it failed to pay wages owed within 72 hours if an employee voluntarily left the organization -- again, directly violating California labor statutes.
Additionally, Taco Bell allegedly violated state law by requiring its employees to work through meal and rest periods without additional compensation. Further still, the complaint alleges the company failed to provide its employees with proper earnings documentation, including itemized wage statements.
Finally, it's alleged Taco Bell failed to compensate its employees for work-related expenses, including business travel and employer-mandated shoes and clothing.
"It's troubling for Taco Bell and its affiliates to think it can violate clear and obvious employment laws without legal ramifications," said Brian Chase, Senior Partner at BISNAR | CHASE. "What's even more troubling is how pervasive and blatant the company violated even the most fundamental labor statutes, such as failing to compensate employees for lunch breaks and rest periods."
Taco Bell Employee Reimbursements -- Company-Wide Violations Alleged
Under State wage and hour labor codes, employers are required to reimburse their employees for all costs associated with business-related expenses, including running errands, parking and mileage costs. Despite Taco Bell employees' reimbursement requests for work-related expenses such as these, they were denied.
According to Chase, not only did Taco Bell allegedly violate a number of fundamental state labor laws, its employee manual failed to outline any processes or procedures by which employees were to submit requests for reimbursement.
"Due to the lack of reimbursement procedures in its employee manual, we can only presume this was a uniform policy that encompassed all Taco Bell restaurants," said Chase.
Upon certification as a class action, the complaint seeks damages in excess of $5 million for unpaid overtime compensation, unpaid lunch and rest breaks, unpaid business expense reimbursement and failure to provide wage statements, in addition to attorneys' fees and court costs.
About BISNAR | CHASE
The employment lawyers at BISNAR | CHASE represent people whose employee rights have been violated when employers do not comply with California labor laws. Among the areas they handle are wage-and-hour claims; overtime, meal and rest period pay discrepancies; unlawful deductions and expenses; job injuries; and other working conditions. The law firm has won a wide variety of challenging cases against Fortune 500 companies and governmental agencies, including school districts, Caltrans, cities, the State of California and the U.S. Federal Government. Download helpful employee compensation worksheets at http://www.bestattorney.com/employment-lawyers/ .
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